Around 30 million Indian orphans need help.
By Raif Karerat
Since 1949, SOS Children’s Villages, an independent, non-governmental organization has aided and advocated for orphaned, abandoned, and other vulnerable children in 134 countries, including India.
It does so by actively providing children with the long-term support they need to shape their own futures — which includes finding them stable families to assimilate into, providing quality medical care, and offering them educational opportunities.
According to SOS, an estimated 30 million Indian orphans still lack the basic building blocks for a hopeful future. With a high poverty rate and low literacy standard, only 3.5 percent of children graduate from high school, leading to most being bereft of the resources they need to escape a life of neglect and perceived ignominy.
Furthermore, statistics tabulated by the organization indicate 1.4 million children in India aged 6 to 11 don’t attend school at all, while 5.8 million children are currently involved in child labor.
Through its various initiatives, SOS Children’s Villages has had a palpable impact in India, placing 6,000 children in loving homes throughout 40 Indian villages; enrolling 6,600 youth in primary and secondary schools; and providing “family-strengthening support” for 31,500 youngsters.
Maya, who joined her SOS family immediately after being orphaned at the age of 4, grew up within an SOS village in Bhubaneswar, India.
Now 24, Maya credits SOS Children’s Villages with providing her with the support she needed to study hard and garner a Bachelor of Science in hotel management and hospitality management.
“Because of SOS Children’s Villages I am here. This motivates me to help poor children in their education so that they can at least be educated, stand independently, help their families and be of support to someone in their society,” Maya stated, according to materials released by SOS Children’s Villages to The American Bazaar.
While she is proud of a number of her achievements, Maya described her appointment as a management trainee in a prestigious hotel and convention center as one of the most significant; the SOS beneficiary was duly chosen from a pool of 800 other students.
“Maya’s success is being shared as an example in the SOS Children’s Village and the community to mobilize other children to opt for decent pathways to fulfill their life dreams,” explained Ajaya Dash, Village Director of SOS Children’s Village Bhubaneswar.
Individuals who wish to bolster the efforts of SOS Children’s Villages in India can sponsor a child through the SOS Indian portal, while sponsorship opportunities are available throughout a multitude of other nations as well.